Refuse receptacle for vehicle bodies



May 25, 1937. J. J. P UNKE 2,081,559

REFUSE RECEPTACLE FOR VEHICLE BODIES Filed April 50, 1934 INVENTOR 1,5, Pqnke BY A WM ATTORNEYS i r May 25, 1937" x UNITED STATES- 2&81559 REFUSE RECEPTAOLE FOB VEHICLE BODIES John I. .Pnnke, Detroit, Mich, asaignor to Hupp Motor Car Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Virginia Application April 30, 1934, Serial No. 723,240

2 Claims. (Cl. 206-195) This-invention relates generally to refuse receptacles and refers more particularly to improvements in refuse receptacles of the type employed in motor vehicle bodies.

5 One of the principal objects of this invention is to simplify, render more efilcient, and reduce the cost of manufacture of vehicle body refuse receptacles. To this end the invention contemplates a refuse receptacle capable of being readily o installed in the arm rests commonly associated with vehiclebody seats, in such a manner that the body portion of the receptacle is concealed from view and does not protrude into the interior of the body. This feature is desirable since 15 it not only provides for imparting a tailored appearance-to the interior of the body without sacriflcing the. convenience 'aflorded by such accessories, but 'atthe-same'time offers the possibility of reducing the cost of manufacture, since it 20 renders it unnecessary to carefully design or finish the body of the dispenser or receptacle;

Another advantageous feature of this invention resides in the provision of a refuse receptacle capable. of being installed within the vehicle body in such a manner that the receiving end 25 of the dispenser assumes a position conveniently located with reference to the occupants of the vehicle body and the discharge endof the dispensercommunicates with a lower pressure area exteriorly of the body permitting the refuse in- 30 sorted into the receiving end of the receptacle to pass through the dispenser out of'the body. It

I has been found that the area in advance of the rear wheel of the bodyis of relatively low pres-' sure, and accordingly, the discharge end of the dispenser associated with the rear seat of the vehicle may be located in this area so that the partial vacuum existing in the latter, assists the action of gravity in cleaning the dispenser.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of a refuse receptacle constructed to prevent a draft or circulation of air within 7 the body from drawing the contents of the dispenser through the receiving end thereof. To 45 accomplish this result the invention contemplates a refuse dispenser having a cover for the receiv- 55 in the p ed paragraph wherein closing of the cover at the receiving end of the receptacle automatically opens the lid at the discharge end of the receptacle so that the latter may be considered as self-cleaning.

60 In addition to the foregoing, this invention contemplates an improved means for assembling the dispenser with the body and this feature as well as the above objects will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a vehicle body showing my improved refuse dispenser in assembled relation therewith;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the'dispenser shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the construction shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the construction shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Referring now to the drawing, it will be noted that there is fragmentarily' illustrated in Figure 1, a portion of the rear end of a vehicle body l having a housing It at one side, of suiiicient dimension to provide the necessary clearance for the rear wheel l2 of the vehicle. Located in the usual manner within the body is a passenger seat 13 having an arm rest I I positioned over the wheel housing II in the manner clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawing.

The forward end portion l of the arm rest and the associated body structure, including the top wall of the wheel housing, are formed to provide an opening ii of sufllcient dimension to receive a metallic tube. I! which in turn is of the diameter required to telescopically receive the tubular body portion ll! of my improved dispensing device designated generally in Figure 2 by the reference character IS. The tubular body portion I8 is detachably frictionally held within the tube IT by suitable leaf springs 20 spot-welded or otherwise suitably secured at their lower ends to the body portion I 8 and having the free ends bowed outwardly to frictionally engage .the inner sides of the tube ll. Thus it will be seen that-the dispensing device may be assembled with, or removed from the tube I! by longitudinal displace ment of the device relative to the tube.

The tubular body portion i8 of the device is of suflicient length to extend from the top of the portion i5 of the arm rest to a point within the wheel housing II. The upper or receiving end of the tube i8 has secured thereto a suitable escutcheon 2| in the form of a collar having a tubular portion 22 sleeved within the upper end of the tube I8 and having an outwardly projecting annular finishing flange-23 extending over the upholstery surrounding the opening through the arm rest.

For practical purposes, the receiving end of the tube I8 is normally closed by a suitable .cover 24 located within the escutcheon 2| and pivotally supported on the latter by means of a pin 25 located as shown in Figure 3, in order to present a maximum unobstructed area upon opening the cover.

Inthe present instance, the cover is normally held in its closed position by means of a control 26 carried by the eseutcheon 2| opposite the swinging edge of the closiu'e. As shown in Figure 5, the control is supported upon the tube l8 by means of a leaf spring 21 normally urging a shoulder 28 on the control in cooperative relation to a corresponding shoulder 29 on the swinging edge of the cover to hold the latter in its closed position. It will be apparent from Figure 5, that the cooperating engaging shoulders may be readily released by merelymoving the control laterally outwardly with respect to the cover.

As shown in Figure 1, the discharge end of the tube l8 extends exteriorly of the body, and in the present instance is so located with respect to the wheel l2 that the rotation of the same cooperates with the forward motion of the vehicle in developing a low pressure area in the locality adjacent the discharge end of the tube Hi. This low pressure area not only assists the action of gravity in cleaning the tube l8, but also acts to prevent foreign matter from passing into the tube through the discharge end of the same.

With the construction as thus far described, it has been found that under certain conditions movement of the cover 24 to its open position causes a draft through the tube H3 in an upward direction and a draft of this character is, of course, objectionable since it has the tendency of blowing the ashes or other refuse deposited in the dispenser through the receiving 'end of the latter into the body. In order to overcome this objection without complicating the operation of the dispenser I provide means for automatically closing the discharge end of the tube I8 as soon as the cover 24 is opened. In detail, I provide a closure 30 for the discharge end of the tube 18 hingedly. connected as at 3| to this tube for outward swinging movement relative thereto. The closure 30 is normally held in the open position thereof shown in Figure 2 by means of a rod 32 located within'the tube l8 and having the lower end operatively connected to the closure 30 adjacent the hinge connection 3|. Sleeved upon the lower end of the rod 32 is a coil spring 33 having the upper end bearing against a suitable shoulder-34 formed on the rod and having the lower end abutting a collar 35 slidably supported upon the rod for engagement with the closure to maintain the latter in said open position. The upper end of the rod is operatively connected as at 36 to the cover 24 adjacent the pivot pin 25 and is normally urged in an upward direction tending to move the cover to its open position by means of'a spring 31 located within the tube l8. The upper end of the spring 31' is secured to a clip 38 fixed to the tube l8 and the lower end of the spring is connected to the rod in the manner shown by the reference character 39 in Figure 2. The arrangement is such that upon disengaging the cooperating shoulders 28 and 29 by moving the control 26 laterally outwardly with respect to the swinging edge of the cover 24 the rod 32 is shifted upwardly by the spring 37 to automatically swing the .cover 24 to its open position. As the rod 32 is moved upwardly by the spring 31, the closure 30 at the discharge end of the tube I8 is automatically moved to its closed position so as to prevent any tendency of an upward draft through the tube l8,

In the above position of the closure, the ashes or other refuse may be deposited in the receptacle without the danger of the same blowing back out of the receiving end of the tube l8. Due to the connection between the cover 24 and closure 30 movement of the former to its closed position automatically opens the closure 30 topermit the refuse to pass out of the discharge opening in the tube. Attention is called to the fact that when the cover 24 is-moved to its closed position the cooperating shoulders 28 and 29 snap into engagement so as to prevent accidental opening of the cover by the spring 31.

Thus from the foregoing it will be observed that I have provided a relatively simple and inexpensive dispensing device particularly applicable to vehicle bodies and capable of being readily assembled with the latter. It will further be observed that I have provided a dispensing device having a novel closure combination whereby manipulation of a suitable control automatically opens the cover at the receiving end of the device and automatically closes the lid at the discharge end of the device. In addition, it will be apparent that the above closure arrangement is such that upon moving the cover to its closed position the lid is automatically opened to provide for the passage of the refuse out of the dispenser. Aside from the above, it will be seen that with the exception of the cover and associated escutcheon, the device need not be finished since the remaining parts thereof are entirely concealed from view.

While in describing my improved dispensing device, particular stress has been placed upon the use of the same in association with an arm rest of a motor vehicle body seat, nevertheless, it

is to be understood that this device may be placed at any other convenient point within the body without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a body, of a refuse dispensing device comprising a receptacle extending downwardly from a point within the body to a point exteriorly of the body and having the opposite ends open, a cover for the receiving end of the receptacle movable to both open and closed positions, a closure for the discharge end of the receptacle normally maintained in its open position, means housed within the receptacle and operable in dependence upon movement of the cover to its open position for automatically closing the closure and spring means also housed within the receptacle for normally urging the cover to its open position.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a body, of a refuse dispensing device comprising a receptacle extending downwardly from a point within the body to a point exteriorly of the body and having the opposite ends open, a cover for the receiving end of the receptacle movable to both closed and open positions, a closure for the discharge end of the receptacle normally maintained in its open position, a connection between the cover and closure housed within 'the receptacle and operable upon movement of the cover to its open position to automatically close the closure, spring means also housed within the receptacle and normally urging the cover to its open position, and a latch for maintaining the cover in its closed position against the action of said spring means.

JOHN J. PUNKE. 

